New Golf Rules Explained: Putting Green

Below we explain the changes that have come into play for 2019 on the putting green, including putting with the flagstick in, repairing damage on the green, your golf ball moving on the green and more…

Putting with the flagstick in

Previously

If you putt from on the green and the ball strikes the unattended flagstick in the hole, you will be penalised.

From 2019

Golfers will no longer need to attend the flagstick in 2019

There will be no penalty stroke if a ball played from the green strikes the flagstick in the hole.

A number of factors have contributed to this change, not least the potential to speed up play and reduce wear and tear around the hole, especially during the off-season.

Being able to putt to an unattended flagstick should also put an end to that slightly awkward scenario when your opponent or fellow competitor is attending the flagstick for you and accidentally allows your ball to strike it, resulting in you incurring a penalty.

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This will see an end to those anomalies in high winds, where one minute you had a 12ft birdie putt and the next your ball had rolled off the green, or even perhaps into the hole, in which case you would be deemed to have holed out with your previous stroke.